Purchasing an old alienware make sense?

People have been whining/complaining about the new alienwares being trash and I was wondering what if I picked up one of those models that have the swappable/mxm gpus is it still worth it? if yes Which machines/models are nice to pick up? Or will it turn out to be a money pit?

ive been looking over at ebay and there are tons of 2nd hand up for grabs. Some go for 1500+usd above and some for as low as 500usd

also Is there a guarantee that every year there will be a release of cards that will be compatible with the machine?how about the support/bios etc?

 

so many views but no replies

 

To be fair, i think it depends on you as the consumer, and how much you are willing to do to achieve "best" performance. Without a doubt, the first alienware 17 in the new line would be the best, equipped with a 4930mx and a 980m. However, not many people are willing to put an aftermarket 980m in there as the cost is high as well as having to dismantle yourself. Therefore, the newer alienwares can also be a good option for those lazy people.

basically, tl:dr, the first gen alienware 17 will still kick ass if you put the top end components in, but as the products are nearing the end of life as there is no upgrade path from the 4930mx in sight as cpu sockets are being phased out and the uncertain future of the mxm graphics cards, the alienware 17 r1 is the best option if fully decked out. The newer soldered laptops are alright. (keyword on "alright")

 

You are better getting a new system. Because nothing that you asked there is going to happen. No one can guarantee what will work and for how long. Also you will not have any bios update because you own a non production/discontinued model.

Just look on how the 980m have been a pain in the ... for almost every old Alienware system. Also I don't think that future laptop GPUs will worth something. As it looks like the newer the more problems is giving to the users.

 

Get your hand on a a Alienware m18x-R2. It's still top notch laptop atm. It can run the 980m SLI.

 

I think the M17x R4 / M18x R2 could be considered as the last true AWs.
The design is exotic, build quality is great, cooling is very good, and customization is easy (as long MXM 3.0 gpus keep coming) + 3940xm will be enough for years.
I regretted not getting an M18 but I got the 120Hz display which is nice.
My R4 came with a 680M which was a beast of a GPU for 2 years. I hope the 980M will perform for 2 more years .

 

I have owned several Alienwares including the M15x, M17x R3, M17x R4, M18x R2, AW17 R1, AW18, and the AW 17 R2.
My absolute favorite is the M18x R2. Nothing will ever come close to this computer. Looks great, performs great, solid computer. Right behind it is the M17x R4, since it is pretty much the same computer minus the 2nd graphics slot and metal body. They are unlockable in the BIOS, can take modern MXM cards, and can be equipped with CPUs that end up being faster than the Haswell extremes when overclocked. M15x is almost as nice, but Nehalem is very dated. I heavily disliked the AW17 R1 and AW18 since I could never get over the poorer (in my opinion) design. the LCD bezel is gross and chunky. The PLS display on the AW18 is prone to pressure problems giving yellow in some regions if it is not mounted EXACTLY RIGHT. Neither the AW18 or AW17 R1 (or R2 for that fact) are unlockable. The process of resetting the BIOS is an absolute chore and quite honestly, stupid and a huge limitation and nuisance. The AW 17 R2 is junk. Complete and total junk. Inferior build quality. Gets WAY TOO HOT. Shipped with a gimped PSU. Same locked BIOS and stupid reset procedure. Still chunky, which is inexcusable for not having a disk drive.

All this being said, I wouldn't purchase an Alienware, new or used. Go get a new Clevo, I think you will be more satisfied. The new Clevo P870DM looks very promising.

 

You should buy a desktop (or build one). Easy, upgradeable, better price : performance ratio, and more powerful.

Hurry before desktops become soldered, lol.

 

Desktops have a while before soldering, Broadwell/Skylake-E is coming up Q1 2016, and cannonlake-E will be sometime 2017-19 otherwise they will throw a few refreshes, so processors have a while before they are soldered, at least another 4 years unless AMD's Zen Kicks intels ass, which I pray happens, so intel actually innovates and invests in better tech instead of crappy performance increases for 5 years. GPU's are also a while away with PCIE Gen 4 developed, which should hopefully last at least 5 years, so I think there is still hope for desktops.

 

The only good options left today are:

1. Buy a Clevo with MXM cards and desktop CPU
2. Build a desktop the way you want it

If you already own an M18xR1 or M18xR2 with an Extreme CPU and 680M SLI or 780M SLI it will be faster and more powerful than any of the BGA single GPU turdbooks that will be sold in the foreseeable future. I definitely would not recommend buying an older Alienware with a mind to upgrade, but I also would not recommend wasting money on any BGA turdbook... no matter what brand it is, it will be a pile of trash.